Rubber.



J. s. GAPEN.

RUBBER. AIPLIGATION' FILED JAN. 30."1909.

Patented June 7, 1910.

lwemar: Joseph. S Capaz@ ANDREW a GRAHAM C0. Pkcmvumocmwins, wASnmG'mrv.u. c

@Trans RUBBER.

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To all whom it may concer/n:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr S. CAPEN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Stoughton, in the county of Norfolk and Statel ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Rubbers, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to foot wear and has reference particularly torubbers, sandals and the like usually made of rubber', adapted to beworn over the ordinary boot or shoe.

The object of my invention is to so construct such foot wear that itwill not be cut or weakened by contact with the sharp edge of, or thenails in, the heel of the shoe over which it is worn, and also to sodistribute the strain now imposed upon the heel seat of a rubber by theheel of the shoe, as to diminish the tendency of such seat and tread tobreak away from the upper.

In the embodiment of my invention select ed for illustration hereinFigure l is a verti tal, longitudinal, sectional view of a pon tion of arubber of the usual form made in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 isa perspective, sectional detail of a portion of the heel of the samerubber, and Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section of the heel on the line 33, Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. l, the rubber l illustrated therein is of the usualform and is provided with a heel 2, also of the usual type.

The rubber is provided with the usual lining 3, which is applied to thevamp portion in the customary manner, while the heel may be constructedas shown in Figs. l and 2, wherein it comprises a usual innersole 4L,and its lining 5, said vamp lining 3, of the rubber, being carried downand folded over upon and firmly secured to the edge of the innersole 4,as by cementing.

The rag sole 6, as it is commonly termed, is applied and secured to theinnersole 4, in any desired manner, preferably by cementing.

The construction thus far referred to, is that commonly followed inmaking the usual rubber.

According to my invention as illustrated herein, a member 7, which Iterm a load carrying member is applied to the tread of the heel.Although said load carrying mem- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 30, 1909.

Patented June 7, 1910.

serial No. 475,189.

' ber may be applied at any suitable time,

during the building up of the heel, I prefer to apply it after the ragsole has been laid in position. This load carrying member 7, may be madeof any suitable material, for example, leather, and, as clearly shown inFigs. l and 2, covers the lower surface of the heel and is provided withan upturned beveled edge S to fit properlythe inner walls of the rubber.This upturned beveled edge S is shown provided at intervals with slits9, preferably triangular or dovetailed, to permit of flexing of the heeland to permit said member to be smoothly and firmly secured, ashereinafter described, to the upper. Said member 7 may also, if desired,be provided along its upper' edge with dovetailed or other suitablyformed members 71, adapted to coperate and interlock with suitablemembers 7b, formed for example, upon the lower edge of a member 7c to beapplied, preferably, to the lining 3 in any suitable manner, the ends 7thereof being carried down and folded over upon and secured as bycementing, to the edge of the rag sole 6. This load carrying member 7may be molded into the desired shape before being applied to the heel ornot, as may be most convenient and desirable. In the drawing thatportion of the edge of the member 7 opposite the shank of the rubber isnot shown as provided with the slits 9, but it may be so provided, ifdesired. A heel member 10, of any suitable material, preferably offrictioned cloth, well known to those skilled in the art, and of anydesired weight and strength, is next applied to the heel upper, thelower edge of said frictioned heel member l() being carried down, andfolded over upon and secured as by cementing, to the load carryingmember 7. The frictioned heel member 10 may be of any desired height,and is shown herein as carried to the top of the upper to permit it tobe properly secured, as by cementing to the lining 3. After said memberl0 is applied, any suitable tool, such for instance as the rollercommonly used in this art for depressing the edge of a rubber member,may be used to depress portions of the member 10 into the slits 9, andthe members "EL between the cooperating members 7b. The filling sole llis next suitably secured to the lower face of the load carrying member 7|the edge of said filling sole overlapping l slightly the edge of themember 10, but eX- tending not quite to the edge of the heel. The upper'12 is then secured over and to, preferably by cement, the member 10, thelower edge of this member also being carried down and folded over uponand secured to the inturned edge of the member 10. The edge of the upper12 is abutted approximately against the edge of the filling sole 11.

The member 12 above referred to is stretched tight when it is applied tothe heel to cause it to present a smooth surface when the rubber isfinished.

After the upper 1Q, has been applied, the outer layer or tread 13 of theheel is secured in position, commonly by the use of suitable cement, theedge 14 of the tread being carried over and firmly pressed down upon theedge of the upper, by an instrument known as the stitcher. The rubber isnow vulcanized in the usual manner and such vulcanizing has the effectof hardening and an'ialgamating more or less the interlocking portionsof the frietioned heel member 10 in the slits 9, and the members 7 and7b, referred to, to furnish a secure lock for and to support the bevelededge 8; by this means a portion of the weight of the body heretoforecarried by the heel seat alone, is transferred to and suspended from thewalls of the upper or side of the rubber.

During the time which has elapsed after the member 12 has been applied,and before the shoe is vulcanized, the member 12, which was, as stated,stretched smoothly over the heel, may have contracted more or less sothat the edge of the said member 12, which formerly was abutted againstthe edge of the filling sole 11, frequently will be found to have beendrawn away from the same leaving a space 15 between said edges, Fig. 3.

It is evident that makers of rubbers cannot make the heel of the rubberto conform in shape, nor in size, except approximately, to the heel ofthe shoe upon which it is to be worn. Because of this the heel of therubber is usually made large enough to tit approximately any shape orsize of heel for a shoe of a given size, and since the tread or top liftof the shoe heel averages to be smaller than the angle seat providedtherefor in the heel of the rubber, the sharp edge of the shoe heelusually bears upon the heel seat of the rubber at some distance withinits peripheral outline and over the space 15 referred to.

The inner sole and rag sole being made usually of cheaper material thanthe upper and outer sole of the rubber, they soon give way under theunsupported weight of the sharp edge of the shoe heel referred to, andthe heel usually becomes cracked and weakened long before the rubber iselsewhere badly worn.

Owing to the fact that the various inembers comprising the upper of therubber and those comprising the heel o-f the rubber are joined at ornear the lower edge of the heel this point is always weak. Where oneside of the heel tread of the shoe becomes worn so that the shoe heelbears unevenly upon the seat of the rubber heel there is a constanttendency of the side wallof the rubber, directly under the worn off edgeof the shoe heel, to buckle and break at the edge, where the heel upperand the tread are joined. This constant buckling or bending soon weakensthe heel at this point and is an additional cause for its early givingway at this point. By my invent-ion the foregoing difliculties are allovercome.

Vhile I have described a preferred form of construction, obviously thedetails thereof may be varied without departing from the spirit andscope of the invent-ion.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. As an article of manufacture a rubber overshoe, the heel whereof isflexible and provided with a flexible load-carrying member having itsmargin upturned, slitted for iiexibility and secured to the heel part ofthe overshoe to receive support therefrom and at the same time permitdesired flexilgility of said heel and load-carrying mem- 2. As anarticle of manufacture a rubber overshoe, the heel whereof is flexibleand provided with a flexible load-carrying member having its marginupturned slitted and anchored thereby to the heel part of the overshoeto receive support therefrom and at the same time permit desiredflexibility of said heel and load carrying member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH S. CAPEN. l/Vitnesses Evnnn'r'r S. EMERY, ROBERT H. KAMMLER.

